


Finder's Keepers

by yoshizora



Category: Xenoblade Chronicles 2
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-12
Updated: 2018-03-12
Packaged: 2019-03-30 08:58:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 866
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13948185
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yoshizora/pseuds/yoshizora
Summary: Patroka acquires her Blade.





	Finder's Keepers

**Author's Note:**

> it's half-past 2 am and i was thinking about how friendly Perdido and Cressidus turned out to be

Blood spills from the wound like fruit that had been burst. It’s neither a grisly nor pretty sight; Patroka simply stands there and watches impassively as her target stumbles backwards. His Blade yells out in alarm, too far away to _do_ anything. 

The Driver’s glare could burn with its intensity. Patroka turns the bardiche in her hands and points the blade to his throat, lazily, like it’s a routine she’s been through so many times. _Too many times._ Not enough times. 

“Give it up, already,” she drawls. 

“ _Wench_ ,” he spits, clutching the gash in his abdomen. Red stains his glove a deep hue. “You’re the one from Torna who’s been offing the mercs around here, aren’t ya?” 

“Yeah. So what?” 

The fury in his eyes flares— the ether flares, his Blade raising all four weapons but reluctant to make a proper move when Patroka has his Driver’s life at the end of her bardiche. She’s _fast_ , they had realized too late when she attacked them. The legends of Flesh Eaters were true, after all. They never stood a chance. 

Patroka’s eyes flit to the Blade just for a moment. His face is unreadable, but his stance is tense. Afraid. Unsure. 

“Perdido!” The Driver chokes, teeth grit. “Don’t worry about me! You— you just get out of here!” 

“Without you, Master?! Unthinkable!” 

Tears well in the corners of his eyes. Of course he knew Perdido wouldn't abandon him.

“ _Ugh_. Talk about sappy.” The tip of her bardiche glides along the Driver’s neck, leaving a shallow cut. Patroka’s lip curls in disgust and she very nearly pushes it just a bit more, enough to slice into his throat like butter, but she refrains for now.

Her gaze turns to Perdido, whatever little interest she had in the Driver completely lost now that he’s basically dead. It’s the _Blade_ that intrigues her. What kind of Blade wields four different kinds of weapons? 

“You. Perdido, was it?” 

Very, very slowly, he nods. 

“I like your style. I think I’ll make you my Blade after I kill your Driver.”

Perdido audibly gasps in horror, and he can feel his Driver’s blood run cold, and his weapons begin to rattle as his arms tremble. He… heard that correctly, yes. A sick feeling wells up in his gut and he wants to strike so badly, to fell this disgusting woman where she stands, but he can only tighten his grips and hold himself back from charging in like a fool.

“I will _never_ serve a monster such as yourself. I am a Blade of honor!”

Patroka’s features twist into a cruel grin. 

“You think any of that will matter after your Driver is dead?” 

Ah, his Driver is crying now, silently muttering words under his breath. He could be praying. Perdido lowers his weapons with that harsh reminder— he’ll lose _everything,_ when his Driver is dead. Perhaps even his code of honor would be lost. The thought makes his guts lurch again.

“But hey… I’ll make you an offer,” Patroka keeps the blade pressed to his Drivers throat, but now she relaxes her posture and her grin falls back to an indifferent frown. 

“Instead of becoming my Blade, wanna become a Flesh Eater?” 

Perdido’s eye widens.

“You’ll get to keep your memories. All you gotta do is come join us in Torna. Well… it’s not like you’d be accepted anywhere else, so you won’t get much of a choice in _that_ part.”

His Driver gasps. “D-Do it, Perdido! I’m as good as dead anyway! I just— please! Do it for your own sake!” 

“Master…” Perdido’s chest aches. “I could _never._ ” 

“Please, Perdido! Take her offer!” 

That ache only becomes more painful. He was always such a kind man, honorable and compassionate and everything Perdido could ever admire in a person. The weapons clatter noisily to the ground. Could he…? Could he commit such an unthinkable act? To become the same kind of monster this woman is? 

No. 

He lowers his head. “I’m sorry, Master.” Then, he looks to Patroka, who had been impatiently tapping her foot the whole time. “… I’ll do it.” 

Her foot stops tapping. 

She _laughs._

“Really?! I was just kidding! Ha _haaah!_ I didn’t think you’d actually take me seriously, you dumbasses! Why the _hell_ would I ever let you become a Flesh Eater instead of my Blade?! Get real!” 

Then her bardiche cuts clean through in one swift movement— his head rolls— Perdido yells in shock, reaching out and falling to his knees, crying out his beloved Driver’s name. The abrupt disappearance of their connection is like an amputation. He can feel himself fading away, and as he looks up at Patroka’s smirk he _vows_ to never re-awaken.

But the despair of knowing that he will consumes him in his final moment. 

Patroka picks up the dull Core Crystal and turns it over in her hand. It’s cold, for now. She slings the bardiche over her back and kicks the dead Driver’s body aside as she walks out, pocketing the crystal. Convincing Jin to let her keep this one for herself will probably be a hassle, but she's confident she can make a solid argument.

“This’ll be fun… Perdido.”


End file.
